Platonism

Lyle Burkhead (LYBRHED@delphi.com)
Thu, 10 Nov 1994 03:26:53 -0500 (EST)

>A-Platonism is the opinion that our mathematical objects have a
>real existence in some real world.

Apparently this means that all mathematical objects are on the same footing.

Another possibility would be D-platonism: some mathematical objects have a
real existence and others don't.

>An essential difference is that the mathematician may even be cheating:
>he starts with some assumptions that he wants to disprove, in the course of
>the argument he constructs objects, treats them psychologically as existing
>things, until at the end a contradiction is reached and the whole edifice
>falls into pieces.

A D-platonist is not committed to the actual existence of such objects.